CMS Administrator Seema Verma emphasized that the final rule addresses key priorities, including “improving the quality and safety of care, advancing health information exchange and usability, and removing outdated or redundant regulations on healthcare providers to make way for innovation and greater value.”

(1) creating a “reporting period of a minimum of any continuous 90-day period in each of calendar years 2019 and 2020 for new and returning participants attesting to CMS or their State Medicaid agency;”

(2) establishing a new performance-based scoring methodology in Medicare;

(3) finalizing two new electronic prescribing measures for opioids; and

(4) making changes to measures and removing certain measures that “do not emphasize interoperability and the electronic exchange of health information.” CMS will consider comments on enhanced transparency measures in future rule making.